Under The Mistletoe
by BOO-imawriter
Summary: The Christmas season is at hand. While the crew prepares for the holiday, Luffy recalls the previous Christmas with the whole crew. What happened then? What ensues? What about the mistletoe? LuNa inside; family moments among the Straw Hats


Hello, I decided to do a seasonal fic, not really sure about the 'facts' in this fic or whether they even have Christmas, but here it is  
>This fic took a longer time than I thought, the story extended a lot when I started writing about the other Christmas<br>It was somewhere in the middle of this that I noticed the title was the same as the main lyrics in Justin Bieber's new song Mistletoe. This is not a song fic, neither does it have any relation to the song or Justin Bieber (any coincidences, if it were possible, are purely coincidental and not in any way directed to make fun off or demean anyone or anything)  
>I hope you guys like the story! Happy Reading!<p>

Disclaimer: I'm a bit too tired to think of creative ones. I don't own One Piece or any of its affliations (Toei, Funimation, etc...)

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><p>Christmas was always special.<p>

The very season was heart-warming in nature. Almost in blatant contrast to the cold winter winds, the warmth of the Christmas season always seemed all-encompassing. It was known as the season of giving, but that wasn't really the point as most might think. It was a time for friends and family to come together to reflect upon the year while getting ready for the new one together. At least, that's what it is all about for Luffy, the resident, and apparently clueless, captain.

This Christmas was going to be different for a few reasons. For one thing, he was spending it with his crewmates for the first time since before they were separated by Bartholomew Kuma. The ones that he now, more and more, regarded as his family rather than his crew or his friends. His attention turned to the crew's cyborg and shipwright, who was putting up a massive tree filled with his self-made decorations, along with a few toys supplied by Usopp, who in turn was off the ship in search of presents. His eyes then went over to the small doctor who was trying his best to help Franky with the decorations. Chopper's skills were of little use on this special occasion, but seeing him trying his best to contribute to the event made the ever cute-looking doctor look even cuter. He also seemed eager to do more after the amazing birthday the crew had given him the day before.

The aroma of food filled the air and the captain instantly knew that the feast tonight was going to be a Sanji special, incredibly good and a feast for all their senses. Sanji's cooking always made his mouth water, but there was only so many times a year that he makes food that is capable of overloading all your senses at once. He then looked over to the resident archaeologist that was disembarking, perhaps going to find more decorations for the occasion. Her powers made it so much easier to hang up decorations; along with her understanding of the traditions that made Christmas, she was great to have around at occasions like this. He looked over to his right and spotted the resident swordsman. He was training. He had once told Luffy that he had no care over these sorts of occasions, but the captain had observed that the swordsman had attempted to hide the stack of presents that he had bought for the crew along with the massive amount of sweets he had bought two days ago. Considering the size of the package, it was safe to say that the entire crew had at least glimpsed it. He wondered how Nami would react with the spending of that much money.

Speaking about Nami, there she was; walking around making sure that everything was going smoothly. One of the biggest attributes of being the navigator was being able to command the entire crew without being the captain. Of course, her work was way more tiring and far more difficult, but wielding that sort of power was something to be proud of. Also, there was the fact that she was incredible at organising stuff, which showed in the tidiness of the observation room whenever she used it. She was now walking to the incredibly large Christmas tree and started talking to Franky about its apparent size and cost. It was just like her to worry about money, even for such an occasion.

~~~~~oooooo~~~~~

He could remember the first time that they had Christmas as a crew. They had only just left Thriller Bark and, as if welcoming the season, the sea was especially calm. The crew was still on guard for a storm or something else that the sea might throw at them, but Usopp had managed to get out a small Christmas tree. The day before was Chopper's birthday, but due to the fickleness of the Grand Line they only managed to get a small party started before the sea decided to throw them another storm down their way. Sanji had taken that as an offense and whipped up a big feast for Christmas while the rest did their own little things to make Chopper's day. Like Usopp making a small Chopper doll with clothes that, coincidentally, matched his current clothing. Or Nami subtly putting a few more belis into the budget for Chopper. Or Zoro helping to move Chopper's stuff every time he needed it. Or Robin knitting a sweater for the little doctor. Or Franky making a moving tray system for the infirmary (which unfortunately broke the very next day). Or Brook mixing birthday songs with Christmas carols throughout the day. Or how about him? Playing with Chopper almost the whole day, escorting him like the doctor was the captain rather than him.

Of course, Chopper noticed all of this and responded in his own way, spending the entire day outside of the infirmary to be with his crewmates. After all, that was what Christmas was about, right? Being with the ones that you treasured the most, just appreciating each others presences…

This was when the captain had noticed someone who seemed to be avoiding the festivities. Of course, some of the crew didn't really know what Christmas was. Zoro had absolutely no clue what to do for this occasion, but at least he was trying, finding Brook and Franky at separate occasions to help out with the decorations. Robin seemed to know about the season, but due to complete inexperience she seemed to be wandering around trying to find something to do until Usopp, who had been passing by, suggested helping with the decorations or simply hanging around with the rest of the crew.

Still, it was only when the crew was called for dinner that the captain was absolutely sure that his navigator seemed to be avoiding the events of the night. Usopp and Brook had given him weird looks, which was expected considering that he was passing up food, but he had to get to the bottom of it. No one should hide by themselves on Christmas, with that conviction he headed to find his orange-haired navigator.

He found her staring at the ocean, up beside Sunny's head. The wind was blowing through her hair as he went up to her, wondering what she was thinking of. When he touched her shoulder, she seemed startled, as if she was deep in thought. Seeing that, he decided to take the plunge and ask her.

"What's wrong?"

She looked back at Luffy, as if wondering why he had abandoned food to come to her. Choosing not to ask that question, she then attempted to shift the conversation away from her.

"Nothing's wrong, how about you?"

Luffy is usually described as an innocent but intelligent person. His instincts are possibly honed to such a high level that he is capable of judging people easily without blinking. It was perhaps the same instincts that told him that the orange-haired navigator was _not_okay and this more than anything else made him press on.

"Something's wrong, Nami, I know it. Why don't you tell me?"

Nami was now trying to avoid the gaze of her captain. It wasn't that Luffy had set a piercing gaze upon her, he was invariably incapable of doing that against her; it was just that his eyes were soft, alluring, understanding and seemed capable of looking straight through her without effort. She reluctantly accepted his gaze before attempting to deny it again.

"Nothing's wrong, Luffy. Now, why don't you go for dinner? I'm sure Sanji cooked a lot today."

If she thought that the captain would go just because of food, she was far from right. The captain had already left the food in the back of his mind to tackle the problem he saw before him. The times that he ever seemed like the captain were few, with most of them coming in combat, but this time he was doing just that. Taking care of his crew, even in these sorts of situations, fell under his duties. And he seemed undeniably determined to do this one right.

"Nami, something's wrong. Why won't you tell me?"

He refuses to exert his influence as the captain for this. A simple 'captain's order' would probably send the truth his way in seconds, but he knows that this is one situation where that would only make it worse. For that, she is grateful. Rather than pushing her, he seemed to want her to say it on her own accord. She took in a couple of deep breaths before suddenly breaking down.

"Nami?"

She was crying. She threw herself into the chest of the captain who in turn held her close. He gently stroked her hair as she started to unload her emotions out in the form of tears and sobs. It was at these times that he felt utterly helpless. All he could do was to try and comfort her. He couldn't take the pain away from her and he couldn't help her except through those lame attempts to soothe her. He didn't like it. No one should feel like that on Christmas day. As her sobs slowly started to subside, she started telling him about it.

"The last time I had Christmas was when I was 7. I was always poor, but being with Bell-mère was always fun, and that Christmas even though we had no money she still managed to get us a tree and we decorated it with some tangerine skins and on the top was star-shaped peel. When it got dark, the lights from the village seemed to illuminate the tree as if it had lights on it, and one of the stars in the sky rested directly on the star shaped peel. When I saw the tree that Usopp got with the decorations all over it, it reminded me of the small tree that we had on that night. It reminded me of that Christmas night we had, it reminded me of Bell-mère and all those times we had, it just hurt…"

At this point, Nami had returned to crying, words completely indiscernible. Luffy could only hold her as she continued to cry in his chest. He knew that feeling. When Sabo died, the Christmas of that very year was saddening to both him and Ace. It was the time for the family, but when part of that family was missing, memories of them threatened to overthrow your senses and he had burst out in sobs on that Christmas day. Ace and the rest had comforted him then, all of them feeling the same emotions as they tried to ride past his death. This time was a bit different though. He only knew that this Bell-mère person had died fighting Arlong, from the gossips of the crew he surmised that this person was a mother figure to Nami. He couldn't share her pain; he could only help her get past it. He pulled her closer to him as she continued to sob, so overwhelmed by her emotions that she did nothing to stop him.

"She's gone, that's for sure. But I'm sure she would rather see her little baby enjoying herself on Christmas than crying over her."

Magical words. It was almost a carbon copy of the sentence that Ace had said to him when he cried for Sabo. Just because someone was gone didn't mean that they should remember them in sadness. Surely, Sabo would rather see Ace and him going out for their dreams with smiles on their faces. If he was sure of anything, Bell-mère would rather her daughter be happy than to continue to mourn over her every time she remembered her.

"*sniff* Thanks, Luffy."

She was still crying, but the tears at least were subsiding. They stayed in that tight embrace with his hands around her, one stroking her hair while the other was on her waist holding her close. At some point, her hands had found themselves around his waist, joining in the embrace. They looked each other in the eye, as if enjoying the embrace, before noticing how close they were and, with red faces, withdrew from the embrace. They stood in silence, both thinking of what to say next, before Nami suddenly asked him a question.

"Luffy, what happens after we find One Piece?"

The question seemed completely random, yet he knew why she was asking it. They were all chasing their dreams on the Grand Line, carrying on living to honour promises, vows and feelings, for some to people that were no longer of this world. So what happens after all that?

"I don't really know. Maybe we would continue on till all of us achieve our dreams. Yours seems to be the hardest one though."

"And then what?"

The question had been asked before, but he had never bothered to give it serious thought. He had always imagined going off on more adventures, but he knew that even he was going to settle down sometime. He had tried to leave it at the back of his mind until he actually got there, but now that Nami was asking it, he started to really think about it.

"Maybe I'll settle down somewhere, maybe back at my old village, and start a family to continue…"

"Start a family?"

Nami had interrupted him, the jealous tinge in her voice unmistakable. Luffy suddenly felt like laughing. She had no idea what he was thinking. Instead, he produced a smile that looked so much like a smirk that it infuriated the orange-haired navigator.

"Ya, start a family. I always wanted to have kids, but I didn't want to be like my father who left me alone or my gramps who nearly killed me for training."

Luffy's smile widened as he observed the navigator imagining a plethora of things, her face changing with every thought. After a while, she finally managed to compose herself and ask him another question.

"S…so, who's the lucky girl?"

The smirk returned. Nami was sorely tempted to smack him for that, but knowing Luffy that would probably stop him from telling her anything, so she merely clenched her fist by her side. It was frustrating for the captain to have any sort of leverage on her.

Luffy was enjoying the attention. He was very sure that Nami had no idea what he was thinking, nor did she seem to realise that he was playing with her. He thought that the answer he was about to give was a bit of a giveaway, but knowing her, she probably wouldn't even notice that she knew this person _very_ well.

"How do you know that I have one in mind?"

Her face turned very red at that. He could have just given her his answer, but it was amusing to see her reactions. He also found her really cute whenever she blushed like that…

"Do you?"

She was looking at him expectantly, seeking an answer. Her face was still red and Luffy was finding it difficult to deny her.

"Shall I tell you about her?"

She suddenly became attentive, as if it was a very important piece of information for her. He suspected that it actually _was_, but decided to pass it off for now.

"Well, she is a bit shorter than me; her hair is kinda long although it only reaches her shoulders. She's greedy and bossy, yet she's also caring and giving at times. She's headstrong, easily agitated but also very emotional. She's kinda weird, but that the way I like her. I'll only tell her my feelings after I become the pirate king though."

His explanation of this girl seemed to confuse Nami; she also seemed disappointed for whatever reason. It was at this moment that Usopp came out of the kitchen and shouted out, "Oi, Luffy, Nami, if you're not coming in we're going to finish all the food."

As if on cue, his stomach growled. He put his hand on his stomach as the girl watching him giggled at his body's antics. They then both walked to the kitchen, entering side-by-side.

The entire crew was watching them, as if expecting something. Luffy gave them weird looks before realising that Sanji was not there. Nami spotted Sanji tied up and gagged behind the table and wondered what was going on. The remainder of the crew then looked to the top of the doorway, with Luffy and Nami following their gazes.

What they saw made their faces turn red. Someone had placed mistletoe at the top of the doorway. That also explained why Sanji was tied up in a corner. Their crewmates were either smirking or laughing at their faces. Now Luffy knew why they were not called in until now. Both of them looked at each other with distinctly red faces. Nami seemed to struggle with herself before she looked away, avoiding Luffy's gaze.

"Well, you still have your girl, so we can ignore that tradition this time…"

Luffy's smile widened. _She __really __didn__'__t __know_, he thought before suddenly pulling her close, causing her face to turn extremely red.

"I decided to give that girl a little preview…" With that, he closed the distance between them, taking her lips with his. The rest of the crew was cheering in the background, while a certain cook was wriggling in despair, but none of it mattered as both of them closed their eyes, choosing to enjoy the kiss. Luffy had intended to give her a small kiss, that kiss became far more passionate as her arms came around his neck to stop him from parting. His own arms had also entwined around her, one giving her body support as it grasped onto her waist, while the other came behind her head to aid in deepening the kiss. When they finally parted, their eyes opened to stare straight into each others' eyes, their cheeks still bright red as the rest of the crew, minus the struggling love-cook, continued cheering.

"So where is that girl now?"

Nami's cheeks were still flushed, but she continued to look into the black eyes of the teenage captain as she sought to get that question answered. Luffy didn't disappoint.

"She's right in my arms."

As he said that, he tightened his hold around her, causing her face to evolve from simply being flushed to becoming an epic shade of red. She didn't push him away though; instead she stayed in his embrace as they continued to relish in each others' gaze, before Usopp finally broke in, "So, how long are you two going to stand there?"

They quickly went to their seats, faces now red in embarrassment as they realised that they had just done _all __that_ in front of the crew. They sat right next to each other, with their seats in plain sight of the desperate cook, with Luffy taking the pleasure of infuriating him even more by taking Nami's hand under the table. They started the party, with Robin acting as a reserve waiter, using her powers to get the food from the kitchen to the dining room. After a while, Sanji was finally untied, before being tied up once more after attempting to attack Luffy. He was finally untied again later, when he promised not to attack his captain. They all had a fun time, with the captain and navigator holding hands under the table to whole way. After the party, they left the dining room first, stopping under it to look up at the bunch of mistletoe before pulling close to kiss once more, inciting the fury of the cook who was being held down by Robin and Zoro. They then spent the night in each others' embrace, on top of Sunny's head while watching the stars.

~~~~oooooo~~~~

He was jerked from his daydream when the orange-haired navigator came in front of him. She had spotted him staring at her and came over to see what it was about.

"What were you thinking about?"

Somehow she already knew that he was thinking of something. He could have given it away with the fact that he had been staring at her for some time, but then it was so much easier to assume that she could actually sense these sorts of things. Then again, that could also be the case. Rayleigh had said that women's intuition is unbelievable. Sometimes, he feels that she could read his mind, answering questions that didn't even leave his mouth. Or it could be that she knew him so well that it was simple to guess.

"Just thinking about the last time we had Christmas as a crew."

That made Nami's cheeks go a decidedly pink colour. She then sat together with Luffy at the base of the staircase to Sunny's head, looking at the decorations being put up all around. They looked around before, at the same time, they turned to face each other. Nami moved to sit on his lap as he placed his hands loosely around her waist.

"So where's that girl now?"

It was a question that didn't really need to be answered, but he answered it anyway. He had a feeling their relationship would include this as a little tidbit, like a secret signal to each other.

"She's right in my arms."

They didn't turn red from this; they were long past that stage. Instead, Luffy tightened his hold around Nami as the 20-year old woman snuggled her head into his exposed chest.

"Should we put up some mistletoe?"

That was a really random, but considering that their relationship was aided by that particular Christmas decoration, it wasn't really far off their main topic. Luffy watched as she drew a bunch of mistletoe from her back pocket.

"I'm not leaving your side tonight."

He couldn't help but to be possessive, but that was way Nami wanted it. They stayed in that embrace for a while before standing up, walking down on deck to put up that particular decoration while tipping off Robin about it.

Luffy smiled. This Christmas was going to be special indeed.

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><p>So how was it? Give me your honest opinions!<p>

Thanks for reading!


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